As I was putting together this list of favorite songs, I'd occasionally weigh one artist against another, or one track against another. More often than not, if nostalgia or pure groove couldn't break a tie, taking a look at my play counts on iTunes or Spotify would. Apparently, I have listened to the track "When My Baby's Beside Me" from #1 Record 100+ times without realizing it. (Come to think of it, I guess I do have a tendency to put the track on "repeat" when I listen to this album.) When I stopped to analyze why I'd revisited this particular track so many times, I kept coming back to the same things: the intelligence and lack of sentimentality in Chris Bell/Alex Chilton's lyrics juxtaposed with crunchy riffing and a catchy refrain.
On the merits of the music alone, Bell/Chilton could have phoned in some cotton candy verses about teenage love, and the song still would have been a good listen. But it's obvious they took the time to craft a portrait of a guy who's in turmoil and feels very skeptical about the world around him. He discounts everything from his psychiatrist to his textbooks in his search for direction and comfort. Ultimately, the only time the world makes sense is when his love is right there beside him.
It's a note-perfect, post-modern take on being in love that's more tenacious and true than ten sappy ballads combined.
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